The Big Picture
Movie posters play a crucial role in a film’s lasting impact, serving as an iconic symbol of the movie’s themes and tone.
Thrillers often rely on suspenseful posters to intrigue audiences, drawing them in with striking imagery and mysterious tones.
Posters not only reflect the film’s message, but also contribute to its success by generating interest and sparking conversations.
Movie posters are among the most important aspects of a film’s lasting legacy. While they may be used as part of a marketing campaign designed to bridge greater pop culture appeal, an iconic poster can help a film stand the test of time. Cinephiles often collect their favorite posters to celebrate the movies they love, but posters may be reflective of different trends within the industry at the time. Even in an era that puts more emphasis on trailers and online marketing, posters serve an important role in getting the word out about a great film.
Few genres need great posters quite like thrillers, as they are often reliant on conveying an aura of suspense. While a prominent filmmaker or well-known stars’ names might be enough to sell a movie, seeing a striking image may encourage film fans to check out a film that they weren’t interested in otherwise. These are the greatest thriller posters of all time, striking and unforgettable examples that are as evocative and unsettling as the thrillers they promote.
10 ‘Civil War’ (2024)
Directed by Alex Garland
Image via A24
A film like Civil War was made to provoke controversy, as it examined the divisions within the modern-day United States that could lead to a large-scale armed conflict. The poster of Civil War is certainly not subtle, as it shows US symbols up in flames as the result of a revolutionary effort. This comes to fruition in the final act of the film when the dictatorial President of the United States (Nick Offerman) is targeted for assassination by rebels.
The poster for Civil War is striking and straightforward, meant to evoke feelings of discomfort, especially among those who are more patriotic. The offputting marketing campaign may have worked in favor of Civil War, as it became a box office success that ranked among A24’s highest-grossing films ever. The poster suggests that those who don’t see the film to have an opinion on its political stance are missing out on an important moment in cinema history.
Civil War
Release Date April 26, 2024
Writers Alex Garland
Rent on Amazon
9 ‘M’ (1931)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Image via Nero-Film AG
The German Expressionist movement was not only a critical period in the development of artwork but also an essential era in the nation’s political uprising. Fritz Lang directed many of the best German films of this era, but M served as a foundational film within the neo-noir genre. M’s foreboding tone is evident from its poster, which features an outstretched hand reaching out of the darkness. Given that the film has a sprawling ensemble, it made sense that the poster did not seek to highlight just one actor.
The red color within the titles sparks comparisons with blood, enhancing the creepy vibe. The poster of M shows the fluidity of its ethics, as the film questions the nature of good and evil by showing an alliance between the police officers and organized crime as they attempt to track down a child murderer who has eluded justice. The sharp, dark image would become highly influential in the development of the serial killer genre in the subsequent decades.
M (1931)
Release Date May 11, 1931
Cast Peter Lorre , Ellen Widmann , Inge Landgut , Otto Wernicke , Theodor Loos
Runtime 99 Minutes
Writers Fritz Lang , Thea von Harbou , Egon Jacobson
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8 ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Image via United Artists
The Manchurian Candidate was a highly unusual political thriller that explores the paranoia around conspiracies during the height of the Cold War. The poster for The Manchurian Candidate calls attention to its impressive cast, which includes Frank Sinatra as a government agent, Angela Lansbury as a ruthless political villain, and Laurence Harvey as a brainwashed United States politician. The striking use of both patriotic colors and the forbearance of red helped explore the film’s themes about the difference between communism and democracy. In fact, the colorful style is in and of itself a subversive way of masking the film’s darker themes.
The original The Manchurian Candidate poster creates a sense of paranoia due to its similarities to a politcal campaign poster. The poster’s subversive use of well-known actors was critical to the success of The Manchurian Candidate and also helped its 2004 remake by director Jonathan Demme. Sinatra’s character was played by Denzel Washington, who was cast against type as an idiosyncratic, nervous military veteran afraid that he is being watched by unseen forces linked to a coverup plot.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Release Date October 24, 1962
Runtime 126 minutes
Writers Richard Condon , George Axelrod , John Frankenheimer
7 ‘The Parallax View’ (1974)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Image via Paramount Pictures
Few films of the 1970s were quite as haunting as The Parallax View, even though it wasn’t a horror film. Alan J. Pakula’s thriller about a mysterious organization covering up a series of politically motivated assassinations felt particularly timely given the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X in the previous decade. The poster of The Parallax View features a horrifying image of a man being gunned down, with the strange color patterns obscuring his facial features.
The poster is spooky enough in its own right, but those who are already familiar with
The Parallax View
’s tragic conclusion might find it to be more terrifying.
It’s a poster that, like the film itself, sparks more questions than answers, and the striking coloring only makes the violence more striking and haunting. The vagueness of The Parallax View’s poster deliberately masks any details about the characters or events, which speaks to the universal themes of paranoia and obsession that are essential to the film. The poster is spooky enough in its own right, but those who are already familiar with the film’s tragic conclusion might find it to be more terrifying.
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6 ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Image via Columbia Pictures
Martin Scorsese may have gone through hell making Taxi Driver, as the film’s production was upset by a series of construction projects in New York City that caused a significant odor. Nonetheless, shooting on location was of the utmost importance, as the film attempted to capture the feelings of disenfranchisement that many Americans felt in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War.
The poster of Taxi Driver shows the significant role that New York played in the film. The imagery’s starkness shows how isolated the film’s anti-hero is, showing the grim way in which he views the world. It showcases one of the most famous anti-heroes in cinema history, thanks to Robert De Niro’s performance as Travis Bickle. Bickle would go on to inspire many other iconic characters, including Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and Edward Norton’s Narrator in Fight Club. While the poster for Taxi Driver puts Bickle in the spotlight, it does not seek to show him from a particularly heroic perspective.
Taxi Driver
Release Date February 9, 1976
Runtime 113 minutes
Writers Paul Schrader
Rent on Amazon
5 ‘Blow Out’ (1981)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Image via Filmways Pictures
Blow Out is one of the best neo-noir films of all time because Brian De Palma deconstructs the production of a film from the perspective of a sound designer who bears witness to what he believes to be a murder. It’s one of the rare films that is completely impossible to look away from, especially during its now iconic ending. The starkness of the Blow Out poster creates an atmosphere of intrigue that inspires the viewer to pay close attention to the details.
The poster’s dark coloring is detail-oriented in the same way that the film is. The parallels drawn between the construction of a film and an assassin’s bullet are particularly unnerving. Blow Out stands out compared to other neo-noir films because of how fluidly it mixes prestige with the sleazy; this unique blend of classicalism and modernism is conveyed in the unique artistry of the poster’s design.
Blow Out
Release Date July 24, 1981
Runtime 108 Minutes
4 ‘Training Day’ (2001)
Directed by Antonie Fuqua
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Training Day turns the “buddy cop” genre on its head. Audiences were used to seeing a film centered on two law enforcement officers forced to team up, but Training Day centered on a corrupt cop (Denzel Washington) who takes a rookie (Ethan Hawke) under his wing and embroils him within a sinister conspiracy plot. The gritty, realistic tone of Training Day is evident from its striking poster, which feels like a still image captured from one of the film’s most intense standoff sequences.
The poster for Training Day calls attention to Washington’s terrifying performance, which rightfully won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Washington’s casting in the film was surprising; while he was known for playing heroic characters in films like Glory and Malcolm X, Training Day revealed that he could be ruthless and utterly terrifying.
Training Day
Release Date October 5, 2001
Runtime 122 minutes
3 ‘Zodiac’ (2007)
Directed by David Fincher
Image via Paramount Pictures
Hailed as both one of the best films of 2007 and perhaps the greatest achievement of David Fincher’s career, Zodiac unpacked one of the most famously unsolved cases in American crime history. One of the most disturbing aspects of the film was the fact that there are still so many questions left unanswered revolving around the real “Zodiac killer,” and the poster’s murky colors and unclear imagery call attention to the shocking true story
The poster for Zodiac conveys how radically different the film is from other serial killer movies. Unlike more action-packed films like The French Connection or Fincher’s own Se7en, Zodiac is a slow-burn procedural that shows how dehumanizing it can be to become obsessed with a case that only progressively gets stranger as more details emerge.
Zodiac
Release Date March 2, 2007
Runtime 157 minutes
Writers James Vanderbilt , Robert Graysmith
2 ‘Good Time’ (2017)
Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie
Image Via A24
Josh and Benny Safdie have emerged as some of the industry’s most exciting young talents, creating thrillers that are both darkly amusing and surprisingly profound. The poster for Good Time shows the unique mix of family drama, heist movie antics, and existentialism that make it such a unique film. It’s also a poster that masks some of the film’s most shocking moments, including the frantic chase and fight that concludes the story.
The poster for Good Time exemplified the rise of A24 as a studio capable of pulling off inventive marketing campaigns. While the days are gone when an actor or filmmaker can sell a film based solely on their involvement, A24 has maintained a consistency of quality in their output that has made their work continuously successful with both critics and audiences.
Good Time
Release Date August 11, 2017
Runtime 99 minutes
Writers Ronald Bronstein , Joshua Safdie
1 ‘Parasite’ (2019)
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Image via Neon
Parasite was more than just a great thriller; it was a culturally defining event that became the first international language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Any fan of director Bong Joon-ho knows that he is prone to merging genres in an inventive way. While the story was set in modern-day Korea, it speaks to universal themes that audiences around the world could relate to.
The poster calls attention to Parasite’s sharp critique of capitalism. The unique stylism of the Parasite poster also shows the dark comedy that was essential to the film’s success beyond arthouse viewers. Although it’s a film that shocks viewers with its abrupt violence and heartbreaking moments, there’s also an element of irony in the way that the upper class is depicted, which provides some unexpected moments of humor.
Parasite
Release Date May 8, 2019
Cast Seo Joon Park , Kang-ho Song , Seon-gyun Lee , Yeo-Jeong Jo , Woo-sik Choi , Hye-jin Jang
Runtime 132 minutes
Writers Bong Joon-ho , Jin Won Han
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